Rotatable pump-tubing hanger



1942- R. c. WILLIAMSON 2,294,061

ROTATABLE PUMP-TUBING HANGER Filed Oct. 11, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 1942- R. c. WILLIAMSON ROTATABLE PUMP-TUBING HANGER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 l, a mM Filed Oct. 11, 1940 gig. 5.

Aug. 25, 1942. R. c. WILLIAMSON 2,294,061

ROTATABLE PUMP-TUBING HANGER Filed 001. 11, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 .29 ll I =5 .6 o 3 llll z l'lliln 1 2/ %8 5 J b z Z1 2% 47 Patented Aug. 25, 1942 ROTATABLE PUMP-TUBING HAN GER,

Roy 0. Williamson, El Dorado, Arln, assignor of one-half to Lion Oil Refining Company, El Dorado, Arie, a corporation of Delaware Application October 11, 1940, Serial No. 360,847

9 Claims.

The present invention relates to oil well apparatus and more particularly to means for rotating the string of tubing of oil well pumps, which tubing is disposed within a stationary outer casing of the well.

In connection with certain oil wells, it is necessary to pump the oil therefrom; and, to this end, a string of coupled tubing is lowered into the well through the well casing and suitably supported by the casing head, and-a string of sucker rods extend through the tubing to a lower portion of the well, the upper end of said rods being connected to a suitable operating means for reciprocating the rods and the piston head on the lower end of them for raising the oil through the tubing to the surface of the groun where it is suitably discharged.

It has long been known that, due to various conditions, the sucker rods frictionally contact with different points of the tubing resulting in great wear on the tubing as well as the rods at these points of contact and frequently necessitate replacement of the tubing which, in many instances, is .very costly.

It has been proposed, heretofore, to rotate the tubing and in some instances to rotate the rods during the pumping operation so as to better distribute the frictional point of contact between the tubing and the rods over a wider area, thus limiting the proportion of the operating time on any given point of contact which causes wear on the tubing.

The object and purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved and very simple means for rotating the tubing as there are many wells that have almost reached their economic limits which prohibits the' installation of expensive equipment. The improved means of this invention employs a reduced number of parts heretofore employed and arranges them in a novel organization, the simplicity of which permits the present invention to be manufactured and marketed at a price between the reach of operators of small wells and other wells that have almost reached their economic limits, thus extending the economic limit of such wells by giving longer life to the most essential and costlier parts of pumping equipment, namely, tubing.

With the above and other objects in view, as will appear from th following specification, the invention consists of the organization, combination and arrangement of parts shown and described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, which show the preferred embodiments of the invention as at present devised:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a typical well pumping unit incorporating my invention;

Figure 2 is an enlar ed vertical section of that portion of the well tubing and easing that normally extends above the surface of the ground;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view of Figure 2 taken substantially on line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view on! Figure 2 taken substantially on line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary'vertical sectional view illustrating a modified form of the invention which enables the tubing to be sealed oil with respect to the casing when it is. desired to employ a pulling vacuum on the casing;

Figure 6 is a further modified view of an improved means for sealing off the tubing when it is desired to employ a pulling vacuum on the casing; and

Figure 7 is a modification of the form shown in Figure 6, wherein a gripping means is employed to support the weight of the tubing instead of allowing the tubing to be supported by coupling shown resting on rotatable bearing member in Figures 2, 5 and 6.

Throughout the specification and drawings like characters of reference denote similar parts throughout the several views.

The usual well is lined with a casing I0 from the surface of the ground to the oil bearing sand, the casing usually being cemented in place so as to be stationary. The upper end of the casing I0 is provided in the present instance with a easing-head ll, known in the art as the Berry pattern, which is in the form of a sleeve threaded at one end upon the upper end of the casing l0 and its other end portion provided with an lntemal annular rabbet, forming a shoulder 50, upon which rests various instrumentalities which may be employed in well operations. When pumping equipment is employed, a string of tubing I2 is passed down through the casing l0 to the oil bearing sands, the upper end of the tubing being supported above the surface of the ground in any suitable manner and is usually connected with a discharge pipe for delivering the oil to a suitable receptacle; and a string of sucker rods 5| extend through the tubing I! to reciprocate the pump piston 52. Of course, the casing-head ll may be provided with the dis charge openings for permitting the egress of casing-head gas which rises from the well, which 55 openings may be closed by threaded'plugs.

The present invention is concerned particularly with the provision of a very simple means for rotatably supporting a string of tubing I2 from the casing-head and for permitting either manual or automatic rotation of the tubing and, further, in a very simple means for connecting the upper end of the rotatable tubing with a relatively stationary discharge pipe which delivers the oil to a receptacle, all of these parts being arranged in a very practical organization permitting convenient access to them for removal, adjustment and repair.

The mounting of the present invention for the tubing I2, as shown particularly in Figures 1 to 4, inclusive, comprises a support or hanger I3, the lower end of which is of such diameter that its perimetal edge will rest upon the shoulder 50 of the casing head, there being a packing washer interposed between said shoulder 50 and the lower end of the support I3. The support I3 provides a housing for a ball thrust bearing which directly supports the weight of the tubing and permits of its rotation. In the present Iorm herein shown and described, the support I3 comprises the tubular sleeve member it having an internal annular flange b spaced from its upper end and through which extends a tubular coupling member I4 to threadedly engage the upper end of the tubing I2 and which coupling member rests upon the thrust bearing within the sleeve or housing member a. The thrust hearing may consist of an annular cap or plug c internally threaded into the sleeve a and having on its upper surface, and within the sleeve, a ball race d in which is disposed ball bearings e and upon which rests a rotatable collar f. It will thus be seen that the flange b and the cap c retain the collar f and the ball bearin s e in operative position within the support I3 and that the tubing I2 extends upwardly through the cap 0, collar 1, and flange b where it is threadedly coupled with the coupling member I4 whose lower end rests upon the collar f. The flang b further serves the function of centering the coupling member I. This construction provides for an effective rotatable supporting means for the tubing I2 and comprises few relatively inexpensive parts, all of which may be readily disassembled and replaced.

According to the present invention the tubing I2 may be rotated either manually or automatically from the sucker rod operating mechanism. To accomplish manual rotation of the string ,of tubing I2 I provide on the coupling I4 a laterally extending handle bar 2|. This bar may be provided in any suitable manner but is preferably provided by providing two strips of metal a and h, each having corresponding intermediate portions, adjacent one of their ends, ofl'set semi-circularly to form complemental portions of a clamping ring adapted to embrace the coupling I4. These strips and h are clamped in position about the coupling II by bolts 22 and 23. The straight end portions of the bars and h lie substantially parallel and the longer extending ends are in juxtaposition providing the handle bar 2|. The extremities of the other ends of these strips are spaced apart for a distance and receive therebetween a locking detent 24 loosely pivoted on a bolt 25. This detent will normally depend by gravity from the bolt 25 and will engage into one oi a plurality of notches 26 on the upper edge oi. the sleeve a of the support I3 to prevent rotation of the tube after it has 20 bracket 33 supported on the platform 34.

handle bar 2| Openings 1' and i are provided, respectively, in the detent 24 and in the adjacent ends of the bars a and it through which a pin (not shown) may be inserted to maintain the detent in inoperative position (as shown in dotted lines Figure 2) while the tubing is being rotated either manually or automatically.

To rotate the tubing automatically, a ratchet wheel 21 is keyed concentrically on the upper end portion with a coupling member I4 and a bearing ring 28 is disposed above the ratchet wheel 21 and rotatably mounted on the coupling I4, from which ring extends an arm 29 having pivoted to its extremity a spring pressed pawl 30 arranged in cooperative relation with the pitman rod 36 to a quadrant 31 pivotally mounted at 38 in a bracket 39 on the platform 34. A connecting rod 40 connects the quadrant 3'! to the arm 35. Thus it will be seen that through this double ratchet operating means, the string of tubing I2 may be rotated on the ball bearing support I3 and that the degree of rotation may be nicely controlled by measuring the exact amount of eccentricity needed to revolve the ratchet 21 one tooth for each complete revolution of the ratchet 32.

From the above arrangement and organization it will be obvious that my invention contemplates the employment of either manual or mechanical forms of rotation,-or both, in given installation and that either one may be readily applied or removed, as desired. In such instances as where both forms of rotation are employed in any one installation and it is desired to discontinue the automatic or mechanical rotation, the pawl or dog 34 can be lifted out of engagement with its ratchet 32 to dotted line position shown in Figure l, in which event a manual form of rotation may be employed. And, 01' course, when the automatic form of rotation is utilized, the detent 25 will be raised to its inoperative position, shown in full lines in Figure 1 and in dotted line position in Figure'2, and held in that position by the insertion of a pin through the aligned openings i and 1.

While the thrust bearing shown and described herein is employed, it is obvious that any type of thrust bearing may be used which will be contained within the support I3 and be provided with means upon which the coupling member 50 I4 may rest.

It is essential, of course, that the oil passing upwardly through the tubing string I2 shall be collected for storage and, to this end, there is provided a vertical pipe extension I5 connected with the upper end of the coupling I 4 and conwhich the sucker rods 5| extend to an operating means, such as a walking-beam 20.

In Figure 5 there is disclosed a means for sealing oil! the tubing support I3 when it is desired to utilize a "vacuum pull" or to hold pressure been rotated once manually by means of the 7 on the casing. Inthisflgure like reference characters will be used to denote similar parts previously described but the numerals will be raised by the exponent a and the letters will be raised by the exponen This modification for accomplishing this sealing of! consists in turning down a portion of the upper exterior surface or circumference of the collar or block I as well as its upper interior circumference to provide rabbets a: and 1 respectively, in which are disposed packing material 42 and 43, respectively. The packing 42 will engage the interior surface of the sleeve a of the tubing support l3 as well as against the under-surface of the flange b; whereas the packing material 43 will provide a seat upon which the coupling member l4 with the weight of the tubing 12, will rest, thus sealing the support at points where leakage may occur.

In Figure 6 another form of sealing off the tubing support is shown and in this figure like characters will be used to indicate similar and like parts shown and described in connection with Figures 1 to 4 inclusive but the numerals will be raised by the exponent "b and the letters will be raised by the exponent "2". The sealing off" means in this modification comprises filling the space between the flange b of the sleeve a of the tubing support i3 with a packing 44 and interposing between the flange b and the packing 44 a junk ring 45. The upper edge of the sleeve a is externally threaded to receive an annular cap nut 46 between which and the packing 44 an annular packing follower 41 is disposed. An upstanding flange 48 is provided on the cap nut 46 and provided with notches 26 into which the detent 24* engages.

In connection with deep wells it is often desirable to support the pump-tubing by releasable gripping means and, .to this end, there is illustrated in Figure 7 a further modification of the invention as shown in Figures 1 to 4, inclusive, and Figure 6. However, like characters of reference are employed in Figure 7 to indicate similar and like parts as appear in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, but the numerals are raised by the exponent c and the letters by the exponent 3 to avoid complete duplication of description. In this form of the invention, the rotatable beargripping member will have an axially reciprocal sliding movement in said recess, in order to grip and bind the tubing l2 against relatively downward movement and to spread and release the tubing when moved upwardly. The inner diameter of the annular gripping member Si is preferably the same throughout its length, but may be provided with a toothed or roughened surface, as at 53, to assist in the gripping action. The segments of the sleeve may be held together by a resilient member, such as a spring or split ring 54, which will allow spreading of the segments. Furthermore, in this form of the invention the bars g and h forming the handle 2| and support for the detent 24, are clamped directly upon the upwardly extending end of the pump-tubing I2", but the ratchet 21 and its ing, comprising the parts 0 d 6 and f housed in the support or hanger l3 on the casing head I l is the same as previously described and the sealing off means is the same as described in connection with Figure 6 but may be varied as indicated. The coupling member l4, however, is disposed above and beyond the hanger l3 and its "sealing off means (comprising parts 44, 45, 46, 41 and 48), instead of resting directly upon the rotatable bearing f and connects with the pump-tubing l2 at said point of disposition, it being observed that the tubing extends upwardly from the well casing Ill through the support or hanger I3 and its rotatable bearing and its sealing 011' parts. In order to releasably and rotatably support the weight of the pump-tubing I 2, the bearing is provided with a means which will grip the tubing to hold it against downward movement relatively to the hanger ill but which will release it upon relatively upward movement. This gripping means may comprise an inverted frusto-conical annular sleeve-like gripping member 5| composed of a plurality of segments disposed in a complemental recess 52 'of the inner circumferential face of the rotatable bearing member P, the gripping member and the recess being proportioned so that the operating parts are applied to the coupling 14 or the corresponding part of the gland i1, should the coupling l4 be dispensed with or found unnecessary.

Among the advantages for the construction above described is that the wear incident to contact between the sucker rods and the tubing is distributed around the inner circumference of the tubing, thus prolonging the time required to allow a hole through the side wall of the tubing; the lessening of the tendency of the sandto bridge around the tubing and lessening the tendency of the tubing sections from backing oiT their couplings because the rotation of the tubing, by either the manual or automatic means, will be to the right or clockwise.

Having thus described the invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed, it is to be understood that certain changes and variations may be made within the same, which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A rotatable supporting means for well pumptubing, comprising a tubing hanger adapted to be removably seated in a casing-head, said hanger including a housing containing an annular rotatable anti-frictional bearing through which bearing the upper end of said pumptubing slidably extends, and means disposed above said housing for rotatably and detachably connecting the upper end of said pump-tubing and forming a continuation of said tubing for piping material passing through the pump-tubing, and means for supporting said pump-tubing directly from said rotatable bearing.

2. A rotatable supporting means for well pumptubing, comprising a tubing hanger adapted to be removably seated in a casing-head, said hanger being a sleeve-like housing containing an annular anti-frictional bearing through which the upper end of said pump-tubing slidably extends, said bearing including at least two relatively movable members, one of which is removably threaded in the lower end portion of said housing and the other freely rotatable in said housing and means disposed above said housing for rotatably and detachably connectting the upper end of said pump-tubing and forming a continuation of said tubing for piping material passing through the pump-tubing, means for supporting said pump-tubing directly from said rotatable bearing member, and means for applying a rotative force to impart rotation to said pump-tubing.

3. A rotatable supporting means for well pumptubing, comprising a tubing hanger adapted to be removably seated in a casing-head, said hanger including a housing containing an an nular rotatable anti-frictional bearing through which the upper end of said pump-tubing slidably extends, and means disposed above said housing for rotatably and detachably connecting the upper end of said pump-tubing and.forming a continuation of said tubing ior piping material passing through the pump-tubing, means for supporting said pump-tubing directly from said rotatable bearing, and manually and mechanically operable means on said rotatable piping for optionally rotating the pump-tubing and including a locking detent operable to maintain the tubing against rotation when said operable means is inoperative, said mechanical means including an operative connection to a source of power.

4. A rotatable supporting means for well pumptubing, comprising a tubing hanger adapted to be removably seated in a casing-head, said hanger including a housing containing an annular rotatable anti-frictional bearing through which the upper 'end of said pump-tubing extends, and means disposed above said housing for rotatably and d'etachably connecting the upper end of said pump-tubing and forming a continuation of said tubing for piping material passing through the pump-tubing, means for supporting said pump-tubing directly from said rotatable bearing, a ring clamped about said rotatable piping and carrying a handle .whereby said coupling may be rotated, and a detent carried by said clamping ring to engage a portion of said housing for locking said coupling against rotation, when the detent is in one of its positions.

5. A rotatable supporting means for well pump-tubing, comprising a tubing hanger adapted to be removably seated in a casing-head, said hanger including a housing containing an annular rotatable anti-frictional bearing through which the upper end of said pump-tubing slidably extends, and means disposed above said housing for rotatably and detachably connecting the upper end of said pump-tubing and forming a continuation of said tubing for piping material passing through the pump-tubing, means for supporting said pump-tubing directly from said rotatable bearing, including a gripping member carried by said rotatable bearing for contact with the pump-tubing passing therethrough and to be moved by it to grip and hold said pump-tubing against relative downward movement and to release it upon relative upward movement.

6.,A rotatable supporting means for well pump-tubing, comprising a tubing hanger adapted to be removably seated in a casing-head, said hanger including a housing containing an annular rotatable anti-frictional bearing through which the upper end of said pump-tubing extends, and means disposed above said housing i'or-rotatably and detachably connecting the upper end of said pump-tubing and forming a continuation oi said tubing for piping material passing through the pump-tubing, means for supporting said pump-tubing directly from said rotatable bearing. including an inverted irustroconical annular gripping member disposed in a complemental recess on the inner circumferential face of said rotatable bearing for contact with the pump-tubing passing through said bearing member and to be moved by it to grip and. hold the pumplng tubing against relative downward movement and to release it upon relative upward movement.

7. A rotatable supporting means for well pump-tubing, comprising a tubing hanger adapted to be removably seated in a casing-head, said hanger being a tubular housing containing an annular anti-frictional bearing through which the upper end of said pump-tubing slldably extends and including a rotatable bearing memher, and a coupling member disposed above said housing and having its lower end internally threaded to receive the upper end of said pumptubing and resting upon said rotatable bearing member.

8. A rotatable hanger support for pumptubing of wells adapted to rest upon a casinghead and comprising a vertically disposed sleeve having an interior annular flange spaced from its upper end, an annular bearing removably disposed in the lower portion or the sleeve and below said flange, and a pump-tubing coupling having its lower end internally threaded and extending through said flange by which it is centered and resting on said annular bearing, whereby the upper end of the pump tubing may extend through said bearing and threadedly engage the lower end of said coupling and be rotatably suspended thereby, a relatively stationary discharge pipe connected with the upper end 01' said coupling, and a rotatable gland connection in said pipe.

9. A rotatable supporting means for well pump-tubing, comprising a tubing hanger adapted to be removably seated in a casing-head, said hanger including a housing containing an annular rotatable bearing through which the upper end of said pump-tubing extends, a coupling member disposed above said housing and having 1 its lower end internally threaded to receive the upper end of said pump-tubing and resting upon said rotatable bearing member, and manually and mechanically operable means on said coupling and to be optionally employed for rotating the same and including a locking detent operable to maintain the coupling against rotation when said operable means is inoperative, said mechanical means including an operative connection to a source of power.

ROY C. WIILIAMSON. 

